Amm^TE  STORAGE 

TO  AMEND  THE  CHARTER 

°F  Tf®OQKSTACKS  OFFICE 

CITY  OF  WILMINGTON 



The  General  Assembly  of  North  Carolina  do  enact: 

Section  1.  All  laws,  by-laws,  ordinances  and  resolu- 
tions lawfully  passed  and  in  force  in  the  city  of  Wil- 
mington under  its  former  organization  shall  remain  in 
force  until  altered  or  repealed  by  the  Council  provid- 
ed for  under  the  provisions  of  this  act.  The  territorial 
limits  shall  remain  the  same,  and  all  rights  and  property 
of  every  description,  which  were  invested  in  said  city 
prior  to  the  passage  of  this  act  shall  rest  therein  under 
the  organization  herein  contemplated;  and  no  right  or 
liability,  either  in  favor  of  or  against  it  existing  at  the 
time,  and  no  suit  or  prosecution  of  any  kind,  shall  be 
affected  by  such  change  unless  otherwise  provided  for  in 
this  act. 

Section  2.  That  so  much  of  chapter  one  hundred  and 
forty-three  (143)  of  the  Private  Laws  of  North  Caro- 
lina, for  the  year  1877,  and  Acts  amendatory  thereof,  as 
appoints  the  Board  of  Audit  and  Finance/*  a  chairman 
of  the  Sinking  Fund  for  the  city  of  Wilmington,  and 
a  Clerk  to  the  said  Board  of  Audit  and  Finance  is 
hereby  repealed;  that  so  much  of  chapter  two  hun- 
dred and  forty-four  (244)  of  the  Private  Laws  of 
North  Carolina  of  1907  as  appoints  a  Street  Commission, 
is  hereby  repealed;  that  so  much  of  Chapter  two  hundred 
and  forty-one  (241)  of  the  Private  Laws  of  1907,  as  ap- 
points a  Water  and  Sewerage  Commission  is  hereby  re- 
pealed; and  that  so  much  of  Chapter  two  hundred  and 


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fifty-one  (251)  of  the  Private  Laws  of  1909,  as  provides 
for  a  Police  and  Fire  Commission,  is  hereby  repealed; 
and  so  much  of  Chapter  one  hundred  and  thirty-eight 
(138)  of  the  Private  Laws  of  one  thousand  nine  hundred 
and  seven,  and  acts  amendatory  thereof,  as  appoints 
three  library  trustees,  is  hereby  repealed.  And  the  pow- 
ers, duties  and  privileges  conferred  upon  said  Board  of 
Audit  and  Finance,  upon  the  clerk  thereof,  upon  the 
chairman  of  the  Sinking  Fund,  upon  the  Street  Commis- 
sion, upon  the  Water  and  Sewerage  Commission,  and 
upon  the  Police  and  Fire  Commission,  and  the  appoint- 
ment of  Library  Trustees,  shall  devolve  upon  and 
be  conferred  upon  the  Council  hereinafter  provided 
for,  except  as  altered  or  repealed  by  this  act.  And  the 
power  heretofore  conferred  upon  said  Board  and  said 
Commissioners  to  issue  and  sell  bonds  is  hereby  express- 
ly conferred  upon  the  said  Council  provided  for  in  this 
act. 

Section  3.  The  City  of  Wilmington  shall  be  governed 
by  a  Council  consisting  of  five  (5)  members,  each  of 
whom  have  the  right  to  vote  upon  all  questions  com- 
ing before  the  Council,  except  the  Councilman  who 
shall  be  Mayor,  who  in  all  cases  may  exercise  his  right 
to  vote,  or  he  may  reserve  this  right  until  there  is  a  tie, 
but  in  no  case  shall  he  be  allowed  to  vote  twice  on  the 
same  question.  Three  members  of  the  Council  shall  con- 
stitute a  quorum,  and  the  affirmative  vote  of  three  mem- 
bers shall  be  necessary  to  adopt  any  motion,  resolution  or 
ordinance  or  pass  any  measure,  unless  a  greater  number 
is  required  in  this  act.  Upon  every  vote  the  "yeas"  and 
"nays"  shall  be  called  and  recorded,  and  every  motion, 
resolution  or  ordinance  shall  be  reduced  to  writing  and 
read  before  the  vote  is  taken  thereon.  The  Mayor  shall 
preside  at  all  meetings  of  the  Council,  unless  otherwise 
provided  herein;  he  shall  have  no  power  to  veto  any 


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measure,  but  every  resolution  or  ordinance  passed  by  the 
Council  must  be  signed  by  the  Mayor  or  by  two  Council- 
men,  and  be  recorded  before  the  same  shall  be  in  force. 

Section  4.  The  Council  shall  have  and  possess,  and 
the  Council  and  its  members  shall  exercise,  all  executive, 
legislative  and  judicial  powers  and  duties  now  had —  (but 
the  power,  authorities  and  duties  conferred  upon  the 
Recorder's  court  by  Chapter  three  hundred  and  ninety- 
eight  (398)  of  the  Public  Laws  of  North  Carolina  of 
1909  shall  not  be  affected  by  this  act) — possessed  and 
exercised  by  the  Mayor,  Board  of  Aldermen,  the  Board 
of  Audit  and  Finance,  the  Water  and  Sewerage  Commis- 
sion, the  Street  Commission,  the  Police  and  Fire  Com- 
mission, and  all  other  executive  andadminstrative  officers 
and  offices  of  the  said  city  of  Wilmington;  together  with 
all  such  powers  and  duties  as  are  conferred  by  Chapter 
seventy-three  (73)  of  the  Revisal  of  North  Carolina  of 
1905,  upon  cities  and  towns  and  which  are  not  repugnant 
to  this  act. 

The  executive  and  administrative  powers,  authority 
and  duties  of  the  city  of  Wilmington  shall  be  distributed 
into  and  among  five  departments,  as  follows. 

1.  Department  of  Public  Affairs. 

2.  Department  of  Accounts  and  Finance. 

3.  Department  of  Public  Safety. 

4.  Department  of  Streets,  Wharves  and  Public  Im- 

provements. 

5.  Department  of  Water  and  Sewerage. 

The  Council  shall  determine  the  powers  and  duties  to 
be  performed  by  each  department  and  assign  them  to  the 
appropriate  department,  unless  otherwise  provided  in 
this  act;  shall  assign  particular  officers  and  employes  to 


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one  or  more  departments,  unless  otherwise  provided  in 
this  act;  may  require  an  officer  or  employe  to  perform 
duties  in  two  or  more  departments,  and  may  make  such 
other  rules  and  regulations  as  may  be  necessary  or  proper 
for  the  efficient  and  economical  conduct  of  the  business  of 
the  city,  not  inconsistent  with  this  act.  The  Council  has 
and  shall  exercise  all  legislative  and  administrative  pow- 
ers, functions  and  duties  now  had  and  possessed  by  the 
city  of  Wilmington  or  its  officers.  It  shall  make  all  orders 
for  doing  of  work  or  the  making  or  construction  of  im- 
provements, bridges,  or  buildings.  It  shall  levy  all  taxes, 
apportion  and  appropriate  all  funds,  and  audit  and 
allow  all  bills,  accounts,  payrolls  and  claims,  and 
order  payment  thereof,  wilich  payment  shall  be  made 
upon  voucher  or  check  signed  by  one  Councilman  and 
one  other  officer  as  the  Council  shall  designate.  It  shall 
make  all  assessments  for  the  cost  of  street  improvements, 
sidewalks,  sewers  and  all  other  works,  improvements  or 
repairs,  which  may  be  especially  assessed  against  proper- 
ty under  the  powers  now  possessed.  It  shall  make  or 
authorize  the  making  of  all  contracts,  and  no  contract 
shall  bind  or  be  obligatory  upon  the  city  unless  either 
made  by  ordinance  or  resolution  adopted  by  the  Council 
or  reduced  to  writing  and  approved  by  the  Council,  or 
expressly  authorized  by  ordinance  or  resolution  adopted 
by  the  Council.  All  contracts  and  ordinances  and  res- 
olutions making  contracts  or  authorizing  the  making 
of  contracts,  shall  be  drawn  by  the  City  Attorney,  or 
approved  by  him  before  the  same  are  made  or  passed. 
All  Councilmen  at  the  heads  of  departments  and  all 
officers,  shall  be  agents  of  the  Council  only,  and  their 
acts  shall  be  subject  to  review  and  to  approval,  disap- 
proval or  revocation  by  the  Council.  Every  head  of 
department  or  other  officer  shall  from  time  to  time  as 
required  by  law  or  ordinance,  or  when  requested  by  the 


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Council,  or  whenever  he  shall  deem  necessary  for  the  good 
of  the  public  service,  report  to  the  Council  in  writing, 
respecting  the  business  of  his  department  or  office,  or 
matters  connected  therewith. 

The  Council  may  by  ordinance  or  resolution,  assign  to 
a  Councilman  in  charge  of  a  department,  officer  or  em- 
ploye, duties  in  respect  to  the  business  of  any  other  de- 
partment, office  or  employment,  and  such  service  shall  be 
rendered  without  additional  compensation. 

The  Council  shall  have  the  power  to  enforce  the  atten- 
dance of  witnesses,  the  production  of  books  and  papers, 
and  the  power  to  administer  oaths,  in  the  same  manner 
and  with  like  effect,  and  under  the  same  penalties,  as  in 
the  case  of  Magistrates  exercising  criminal  or  civil  juris- 
diction under  the  statutes  of  North  Carolina,  in  all  mat- 
ters it  may  desire  to  investigate. 

Section  5.  The  Mayor  shall  be  Councilman  in  charge 
of  the  Department  of  Public  Affairs,  and  the  Council 
shall,  at  the  first  regular  meeting  after  the  first  election  of 
its  members,  and  after  all  future  elections  of  the  same, 
designate  by  a  majority  vote,  one  Councilman  to  be  in 
charge  of  the  Department  of  Public  Safety,  one  to  be  in 
charge  of  the  Department  of  Streets,  Wharves  and  Public 
Improvements,  one  to  be  in  charge  of  the  Department  of 
Accounts  and  Finance,  and  one  to  be  in  charge  of  the 
Department  of  Water  and  Sewerage;  but  such  designa- 
tions shall  be  changed  whenever  it  appears  that  the  pub- 
lic service  would  be  benefitted  thereby. 

(a)  Department  of  Public  Affairs. — The  Mayor  shall 
be  the  Councilman  in  charge  of  the  Department  of  Pub- 
lic Affairs.  He  shall  have  and  exercise  all  powers  and 
perform  all  duties  provided  or  prescribed  by  law  or  the 
ordinances  of  the  city  not  in  conflict  with  the  provisions 
of  this  act.   He  shall  have  general  supervision  and  over- 


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sight  over  all  departments  and  offices  in  the  city.  He 
shall  be  the  chief  executive  officer  and  representative  of 
the  city,  and  shall  have  charge  of  and  cause  to  be  prepared 
and  published  all  statements  and  reports  required  by  law 
or  ordinance  or  by  resolution  of  the  Council.  He  shall  be 
chairman  of  the  Local  Board  of  Health.  All  notices  of 
quarantine  and  release  must  bear  his  signature. 

The  City  Attorney,  City  Stenographer,  City  Library  and 
Library  Building  Trustees,  the  Civil  Service  Commission, 
and  all  other  officers  and  functionaries  not  by  law  or  or- 
dinance distributed  and  assigned  to  some  other  depart- 
ment are  distributed  and  assigned  to  the  Department  of 
Public  Affairs. 

(b)    Department  of  Accounts  and  Finance: — The 

Councilman  assigned  to  the  Department  of  Accounts  and 
Finance  shall  have  charge  of  and  supervision  over  all 
accounts  and  records  of  the  city,  and  all  officers,  boards 
or  departments  required  to  keep  or  make  accounts,  re- 
cords or  reports.  He  shall  inspect  or  cause  to  be  in- 
spected, all  records  or  accounts  required  to  be  kept  in 
any  of  the  offices  of  the  departments  of  the  city,  and  shall 
cause  proper  accounts  and  records  to  be  kept  and  proper 
reports  to  be  made.  He  shall  audit  or  cause  to  be  audited 
at  frequent  intervals  the  accounts  of  every  officer  or  em- 
ploye who  does  or  may  receive  or  distribute  money.  He 
shall  have  charge  of  the  purchase,  care  and  distribution 
of  supplies  and  other  articles  not  otherwise  provided  to 
be  otherwise  purchased,  cared  for  and  distributed,  He 
shall  have  charge  and  supervision  over  all  printing  by  or 
for  the  city,  unless  otherwise  provided  by  law.  He  shall 
examine  or  cause  to  be  examined,  and  report  to  the 
Council,  upon  all  bills,  accounts,  pay  rolls  and  claims,  be- 
fore they  are  acted  upon  or  allowed,  unless  otherwise 
provided  by  law. 


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He  shall  procure  from  all  persons  and  corporations 
operating  public  service  utilities  in  the  city,  such  reports 
as  they  are  by  law  or  ordinance  or  otherwise,  required  to 
make  to  the  city  or  any  of  its  officers,  and  procure  copies 
of  such  reports  as  are  made  to  the  State,  or  any  public 
officer  or  department ;  and  shall  collect  or  cause  to  be  col- 
lected, all  license  fees,  franchise  taxes,  rentals  or  other 
money,  which  may  be  due  or  become  due  to  the  city.  He 
shall  report  to  the  Council  any  failure  to  make  reports  or 
to  pay  monies  due  to  the  city,  with  such  recommenda- 
tions in  relation  thereto  as  he  may  deem  proper. 

The  Clerk  and  Treasurer  and  Collector,  License  Col- 
lector, and  their  respective  offices,  and  all  employes  there- 
in, and  all  bookkeepers  and  accountants,  are  distributed 
and  assigned  to  the  Department  of  Accounts  and  Finance 
and  shall  be  under  the  supervision  and  direction  of  the 
Councilman  in  charge  thereof. 

(c)  Department  of  Public  Safety: — The  Council- 
man assigned  to  the  Department  of  Public  Safety 
shall  have  charge  of  the  Chief  of  Police  and  the  Police 
Department  and  all  policemen,  officers  and  employes 
therein,  all  police  stations,  property  and  apparatus 
used  in  said  Police  Department ;  the  Chief  of  the  Fire 
Department,  and  all  firemen,  officers  and  employes 
therein,  and  all  fire  stations,  property  and  apparatus 
used  in  said  Fire  Department,  the  fire  and  police 
alarm  systems,  and  all  property  and  apparatus  be- 
longing thereto.  He  shall  have  supervision  over  all 
surface  closets.  The  City  Physician,  Board  of  Health, 
health  officers  and  all  officers  and  employes  in  their  re- 
spective offices,  or  in  the  Health  Department  of  the  city, 
and  all  buildings,  property  and  apparatus  belonging  to 
or  used  in  said  departments  and  offices,  the  plumbing  in- 
spector, city  electrician,  and  their  offices,  and  all  prop- 


s 


erty  and  apparatus  used  therein,  are  all  distributed  and 
assigned  to  the  Department  of  Public  Safety.  The 
Councilman  in  charge  shall  have  supervision  over  the 
construction  and  repair  of  all  buildings  assigned  to  his 
department,  and  may  on  application  receive  assistance 
in  his  department  from  other  offices  and  departments  of 
the  city. 

(d)  Department  of  Streets,  Wharves  and  Public 
Improvements: — The  Councilman  assigned  to  the  De- 
partment of  Streets,  Wharves  and  Public  Improvements 
shall  take  charge  of  all  public  works,  the  cleaning  of 
streets  and  public  places,  the  removal  and  disposal  of 
garbage,  the  entire  erection,  making  and  reconstructing 
of  all  street  improvements,  sidewalks,  bridges,  viaducts, 
wharves,  public  buildings  and  other  improvements  and 
of  the  repair  thereof,  when  not  otherwise  assigned.  He 
shall  approve  the  estimates  of  the  City  Engineer  which 
may  be  made  from  time  to  time  of  the  cost  of  such  work, 
as  the  same  progresses,  and  accept  any  building  erected, 
work  done  or  improvement  made  when  completed  ac- 
cording to  contract,  and  perform  such  other  duties  as 
may  be  provided  by  ordinance  or  resolution.  He  shall 
have  control,  management  and  direction  of  the  lighting 
of  streets  and  alleys  and  of  public  buildings  and  grounds, 
not  otherwise  assigned,  and  of  all  lamps,  lights,  lighting 
material  and  persons  charged  with  the  care  thereof.  He 
shall  have  charge  of  the  enforcement  of  the  provisions 
of  law  or  ordinances  relating  to  bill  boards.  He  shall 
have  supervision  of  all  public  dumping  grounds  and 
dumps.  He  shall  have  supervision  over  all  persons  or 
corporations  rendering  services  to  the  city  or  State,  and 
shall  report  to  the  Council  or  other  proper  officers  any 
failure  of  said  person  or  corporation  to  render  a  service 
or  to  observe  the  requirements  and  conditions  of  the 
franchise,  contract  or  grant. 


1) 


The  City  Engineer  and  his  department  and  the  em- 
ployes therein,  the  Street  Superintendent,  and  all  other 
officers  and  employes  in  connection  with  the  work  of  this 
Department,  are  distributed  and  assigned  to  the  Depart- 
ment of  Streets,  Wharves  and  Public  Improvements,  and 
shall  be  under  the  supervision  of  the  Councilman  thereof. 

(e)  Department  of  Water  and  Sewerage: — The 
Councilman  assigned  to  the  Department  of  Water  and 
Sewerage  shall  have  charge  of  the  watersheds  and  sources 
from  which  the  city  takes  its  supply  of  water,  pumping 
stations,  pipe  lines,  filtering  plant,  and  all  other  things 
connected  with  or  incident  to  the  proper  supply  of  water 
for  the  city  of  Wilmington;  he  shall  have  supervision  and 
control  over  all  buildings,  grounds  and  apparatus  con- 
nected therewith  and  incident  to  the  furnishing  of  water 
for  the  city;  he  shall  have  charge  of  the  erection  of  water 
tanks  and  laying  of  water  lines,  and  the  operation  there- 
of; and  he  shall  exercise  supervision  and  control  over  all 
assistants  and  employes  connected  with  said  Depart- 
ment, except  as  otherwise  provided  in  this  act. 

Said  Councilman  shall  have  control  and  supervision 
over  the  sewer  system  of  the  city,  now  or  hereafter  to 
be  constructed  or  acquired;  he  shall  have  charge  of  the 
construction,  maintenance  and  operation  of  the  sewer 
plant  and  all  property  and  apparatus  connected  there- 
with; and  he  shall  exercise  supervision  and  control  over 
all  officers,  assistants  and  employes  connected  with  said 
works  and  with  said  Department,  except  as  otherwise 
provided  in  this  act. 

(f)  The  Council  shall,  at  the  first  meeting  after  its 
election  hereunder,  or  as  soon  thereafter  as  practicable, 
elect  by  majority  vote  a  clerk  and  treasurer,  who  shall 
be  clerk  to  the  council,  a  collector,  a  city  attorney,  chief 
of  police,  chief  of  fire  department,  who  shall  be  also  build- 
ing inspector,  city  engineer,  superintendent  of  streets, 


10 


three  (3)  public  library  trustees,  and  such  other  officers 
and  assistants  as  shall  be  provided  for  by  ordinance 
and  necessary  to  the  proper  and  efficient  conduct  of 
the  affairs  of  the  city.  Any  officer  or  assistant  elected 
or  appointed  by  the  Council  may  be  removed  from  office 
at  any  time  by  a  vote  of  the  majority  of  the  members 
of  the  Council,  except  as  otherwise  provided  for  in  this  act. 

That  all  the  funds  of  the  city  of  Wilmington  shall  be 
ratably  and  equitably  apportioned  and  deposited  with 
all  banks  of  the  city  of  Wilmington  in  such  proportion  as 
the  capital  stock  of  each  of  said  banks  shall  bear  to  the 
total  capital  stock  of  all  the  banks  in  said  city,  on  an 
equal  interest  basis  of  not  less  than  four  per  cent,  per 
annum;  provided,  however,  that  the  said  Council,  before 
depositing  money  in  any  bank,  shall  determine  that  the 
said  bank  is  solvent  and  responsible,  and  shall  require  as 
a  condition  precedent  to  making  said  deposit,  good  and 
sufficient  bond  with  surety  from  said  banks  in  amounts 
satisfactory  to  the  said  Council,  or  good  and  sufficient 
collateral  to  indemnify  said  Council  and  city  from  any 
and  all  loss  of  funds  deposited  in  said  banks;  and  provid- 
ed further,  that  any  banks  failing  or  refusing  to  furnish 
such  bonds,  or  to  give  such  good  and  sufficient  col- 
lateral as  may  be  required,  or  to  pay  said  interest,  or  de- 
cline or  refuse  to  accept  its  proportion  of  said  funds  on 
deposit,  shall  forfeit  all  right  to  said  deposits,  and  its 
proportion  of  such  deposits  shall  be  deposited  in  the 
manner  set  forth  above  among  the  banks  complying  with 
the  provisions  of  this  act. 

Section  6.  The  Council  shall  have  power  from  time  to 
time  to  create,  fill  and  discontinue  offices  and  employ- 
ments, other  than  herein  prescribed,  according  to  their 
judgment  of  the  needs  of  the  city,  and  may  by  a  majority 
vote  of  all  the  members,  remove  any  such  officer  or  em- 


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ploye,  except  as  otherwise  provided  in  this  act,  and  may 
by  resolution  or  otherwise  prescribe,  limit  or  exchange 
the  compensation  of  such  officers  or  employes. 

Section  7.  The  regular  meetings  of  the  Council  shall 
be  held  on  the  first  Monday  after  its  induction  into 
office  under  this  act,  and  thereafter  at  least  once  a  week, 
or  oftener,  if  necessary;  and  likewise  after  all  future 
elections  of  the  Council  and  inductions  into  office.  The 
Council  shall  provide  by  ordinance  for  the  time  of  hold- 
ing regular  meetings,  and  special  meetings  may  be  called 
from  time  to  time  by  the  Mayor  or  two  Councilmen. 
All  meetings  of  the  Council,  whether  regular  or  special, 
at  which  any  person  not  a  city  officer  is  admitted,  shall 
be  open  to  the  public.  The  Mayor  shall  be  president 
of  the  Council  and  preside  at  its  meetings.  The  Coun- 
cilman in  charge  of  the  Department  of  Accounts,  shall 
be  vice  president  of  the  Council,  and  in  case  of  vacancy 
in  the  office  of  Mayor,  or  the  absence  or  inability  of  the 
Mayor,  shall  perform  the  duties  of  Mayor. 

Section  8.  Every  ordinance  or  resolution  appropriat- 
ing money  or  ordering  any  street  improvement  or  sewer, 
or  making  or  authorizing  the  making  of  any  contract  or 
grant  providing  for  or  granting  any  franchise  or  right  to 
occupy  or  use  the  streets,  highways,  bridges  or  public 
places  in  the  city,  for  any  purpose,  shall  be  complete  in 
the  form  in  which  it  is  finally  passed,  and  remain  on  file 
with  the  City  Clerk  for  public  inspection,  at  least  one 
week  before  the  final  passage  or  adoption  thereof.  No 
franchise  or  right  to  occupy  or  use  the  streets,  highways, 
bridges  or  public  places  in  the  city  shall  be  granted,  re- 
newed or  extended,  except  by  ordinance,  and  every 
franchise  or  grant  for  inter-urban  or  street  railway, 
gas,  electric  or  water  works,  electric  light  or  power 
plants,  telegraph  or  telephone  systems,  or  other  public 


12 


service  utilities  within  said  city,  must  be  authorized  or 
approved  by  a  majority  of  the  electors  voting  thereon  at 
a  general  or  special  election. 

"Provided,  however,  that  no  election  shall  be  required 
for  extensions,  additions  or  improvements  to  existing 
inter-urban  railway,  gas,  electric  or  water,  waterworks, 
electric  light  or  power  plants,  telegraph  or  telephone 
systems  or  other  public  service  utilities  now  operating 
within  said  city." 

Section  9.  (a)  No  officer  or  employe  elected  or 
appointed  shall  be  interested  directly  or  indirectly  in  any 
contract  or  job  for  work  or  material,  or  the  profits  there- 
of, or  services  to  be  furnished  or  performed  for  the  city; 
and  no  such  officer  or  employe  shall  be  interested,  di- 
rectly or  indirectly,  in  any  contract  or  job  for  work  or 
material,  or  the  profits  thereof,  or  services  to  be  furnished 
or  performed,  for  any  person,  firm  or  corporation  operat- 
ing interurban  railways,  street  railways,  gas  or  electric 
works,  water  works,  electric  lights,  power  plant,  telegraph 
or  telephone  lines  or  exchanges,  sewer  plants  or  systems, 
or  other  public  service  utilities  within  the  territorial  lim- 
its of  the-  city.  No  such  officer  or  employe  of  the  city 
shall  accept  or  receive,  directly  or  indirectly,  from  any 
person,  firm  or  corporation,  operating  within  the  territor- 
ial limits  of  the  city  any  interurban  railways,  street  rail- 
ways, gas  or  electric  works,  water  works,  sewerage  plant 
or  system,  electric  light  or  power  plants,  telegraph  or 
telephone  lines  or  exchanges,  or  other  business  using  or 
operating  under  a  public  franchise  any  frank,  free  ticket 
or  free  service,  or  accept  or  receive  directly  or  indirectly, 
from  any  such  person,  firm  or  corporation,  any  other 
service  upon  terms  more  favorable  than  is  granted  to 
the  public  generally.  Such  prohibition  of  free  transpor- 
tation shall  not  apply  to  policemen  and  firemen  in  uni- 


13 


form.  Any  violation  of  the  provisions  of  this  sub-section 
shall  be  a  misdemeanor  and  every  such  contract  or  agree- 
ment shall  be  void. 

(b)  Any  officer  or  employe  of  the  city  who,  by  solici- 
tation or  otherwise  shall  exert  his  influence,  directly  or 
indirectly,  to  cause  other  officers  or  employes  of  the  city 
of  Wilmington  to  adopt  his  political  views,  or  to  favor 
any  particular  person  or  candidate  for  office,  or  who  shall 
in  any  manner  contribute  money,  labor  or  other  valu- 
able to  any  person  for  election  purposes,  shall  be  guilty  of 
a  misdemeanor,  and  upon  conviction  shall  be  punished 
by  a  fine  not  exceeding  $300,  or  imprisonment  in  the 
county  jail  not  exceeding  thirty  days. 

Section  10.  Each  Councilman  shall  file  with  the  City 
Clerk  and  Treasurer  monthly,  or  oftener  if  the  Council 
shall  request  it,  or  the  Councilman  shall  deem  it  neces- 
sary for  the  good  of  his  department,  an  itemized  state- 
ment, showing  all  receipts  and  disbursements  in  his 
department,  together  with  a  summary  of  all  his  official 
acts  and  doings  during  the  preceding  month. 

At  the  end  of  each  fiscal  year  the  Council  shall  cause  to 
be  made,  by  competent  accountants,  a  full  and  com- 
plete examination  of  all  books  and  accounts  of  the  city, 
and  shall  publish  the  results  in  pamphlet  form.  Copies 
of  such  publication  shall  be  delivered  to  the  City  Library, 
the  State  Library,  the  Secretary  of  State  of  North  Caro- 
lina, the  daily  newspapers  of  the  city,  and  there  shall  be 
filed  with  the  City  Clerk  and  Treasurer  a  reasonable 
number* of  copies  to  be  distributed  to  the  public  upon 
request  therefor. 

Section  11.  If,  at  the  beginning  of  the  term  of  office 
of  the  first  Council  provided  for  under  the  provisions  of 
this  act,  the  appropriations  for  the  expenditures  of  the 


14 


city  government  for  the  current  fiscal  year  have  been 
made,  said  Council  shall  have  power  by  ordinance,  to 
revise,  to  repeal,  or  to  change  said  appropriations  and  to 
make  additional  appropriations. 

Section  12.  That  on  the  fifteenth  day  of  March,  one 
thousand  nine  hundred  and  eleven,  there  shall  be  an 
election  held  in  the  city  of  Wilmington,  under  the  elec- 
tion laws  then  in  force,  at  which  all  qualified  electors 
shall  be  entitled  to  vote,  at  which  time  the  people  shall 
determine  whether  they  desire  to  adopt  this  bill  ;  and  if 
a  majority  of  the  votes  cast  be  in  favor  of  the  bill  then  it 
shall  be  a  law  and  a  primary  election  shall  be  held  in 
accordance  with  the  provisions  of  the  law  for  the  pur- 
pose of  nominating  the  officers  herein  named. 

Section  13.  Each  Councilman  shall  receive  a  salary 
of  not  less  than  eight  hundred  dollars  nor  more  than 
nineteen  hundred  dollars,  payable  in  equal  monthly  in- 
stallments, which  shall  be  the  sole  compensation  for  the 
performance  of  all  the  duties  provided  for  in  this  act; 
Provided,  the 'Council  may  by  a  majority  vote  prescribe 
the  amount  of  salary  the  members  thereof  shall  receive 
within  the  amount  named. 

Every  other  officer,  assistant  and  employe  shall  receive 
such  salary  or  compensation  as  the  Council  shall  by  or- 
dinance prescribe. 

Section  14.  On  the  first  of  May,  one  thousand  nine 
hundred  and  eleven,  and  on  the  first  Monday  in  May 
every  two  years  thereafter,  there  shall  be  held  a  municipal 
election  in  the  city  of  Wilmington  for  the  purpose  of 
electing  five  Councilmen  for  said  city.  The  Councilmen 
shall  be  nominated  and  elected  by  the  qualified  voters 
of  the  city,  but  no  two  or  more  of  said  Councilmen  shall 


15 


be  elected  from  one  ward,  and  each  of  said  Councilmen 
must  be  a  qualified  voter  of  some  ward  of  the  city. 

The  candidate  for  Councilman  receiving  the  highest 
number  of  votes  shall,  in  addition  to  being  a  Council- 
man, become  Mayor  of  the  City  of  Wilmington. 

The  terms  of  office  of  the  Councilmen  elected  under 
the  provisions  of  this  act,  shall  begin  on  the  6th  of  May, 
1911,  and  on  the  like  day  every  two  years  thereafter, 
who  shall  hold  office  for  two  years  from  said  date  or 
until  their  successors  are  elected  and  qualified. 

If  any  vacancy  occurs  in  the  office  of  Mayor,  the  Coun- 
cil shall  elect  one  of  its  members  Mayor  to  fill  such 
vacancy  during  the  unexpired  term;  and  if  any  vacancy 
occurs  in  the  office  of  Councilman,  the  remaining  mem- 
bers of  the  Council  shall  appoint  some  person  to  fill  such 
vacancy,  during  the  balance  of  the  unexpired  term, 
who  shall  possess  the  same  qualifications  had  he  been 
elected  at  a  regular  election. 

Section  15.  Candidates  to  be  voted  for  at  all  general 
municipal  elections  at  which  five  Councilmen  are  to  be 
elected  under  the  provisions  of  this  act,  shall  be  nominat- 
ed by  primary  election,  and  no  other  names  shall  be 
placed  upon  the  general  election  ballot  than  those  se- 
lected in  the  manner  as  herein  prescribed.  The  prim- 
ary elections  for  such  nominations  shall  be  held  on  the 
second  Tuesday  preceding  the  general  municipal  elec- 
tion. The  judges  and  poll-holders  of  election  appointed 
for  the  general  election  shall  be  the  judges  and  poll- 
holders  of  the  primary  election,  and  it  shall  be  held  at 
the  same  place,  so  far  as  possible,  and  the  polls  shall  be 
opened  and  closed  at  the  same  times  as  in  the  general 
election. 

(a)  Any  person  desiring  to  become  a  candidate  for 
Councilman  shall,  at  lest  ten  days  prior  to  said  primary 


16 


election,  file  with  the  chairman  of  the  City  Board  of 
Elections,  a  statement  of  such  candidacy,  in  substanti- 
ally the  following  form: 

"State  of  North  Carolina, 
County  of  New  Hanover. 

"I,  being  first  duly  sworn,  say  that 

I  reside  at  street,  city  of  Wilmington,  coun- 
ty of  New  Hanover,  State  of  North  Carolina;  that  I  am 
a  qualified  voter  therein;  that  I  am  a  candidate  for  nom- 
ination to  the  office  of  Councilman,  to  be  voted  upon  at 
the  primary  election  to  be  held  on  the  second  Tuesday 

of   ,  191  ,  and  I  hereby  request 

that  my  name  be  printed  upon  the  official  primary  ballot 
for  nomination  by  such  primary  election  for  such  office. 

(Signed)  

"Sworn  (or  affirmed)  and  subscribed  to  before  me  this 
 day  of  ,  19  


He  shall  at  the  same  time  file  therewith  the  petition 
of  at  least  twenty-five  qualified  voters,  requesting  such 
candidacy.  Each  petition  shall  be  verified  by  one  or 
more  persons,  as  to  the  qualifications  and  residence, 
the  street  number,  of  each  of  the  persons  so  signing 
the  said  petition,  and  the  said  petition  shall  be  in  sub- 
stantially the  following  form: 

Petition  Accompanying  Nominating  Statement. 

"The  undersigned,  duly  qualified  electors  of  the  city 
of  Wilmington,  North  Carolina,  and  residing  at  the 
places  set  opposite  our  respective  names,  do  hereby  re- 
quest .that  the  name  of  (name  of  candidate)  be 

placed  on  the  ballot  for  nomination  for  Councilman,  at 
the  primary  election  to  be  held  in  the  city  of  Wilmington 
on  the  second  Tuesday  of  ,  19  


17 

"We  further  state  that  we  know  him  to  be  a  qualified 

elector  of  said  city,  in  ward,  and  a  man  of  good 

moral  character  and  qualified  in  our  judgment  for  the 
duties  of  such  office. 

Name  of  Qualified 

Electors.  |     No,  Street 

(b )  Immediately  upon  the  expiration  of  the  time  for 
filing  the  statements  and  petitions  for  candidacy,  the  said 
Chairman  of  the  City  Board  of  Elections  shall  cause  to 
be  published  for  three  successive  days  in  all  the  daily 
papers  published  in  the  city,  in  proper  forms,  the  names 
of  the  persons  as  they  are  to  appear  upon  the  primary 
ballots,  and  the  said  chairman  shall  thereupon  cause  the 
said  primary  ballots  to  be  printed,  authenticated  with 
a  fac-simile  of  his  signature.  Upon  said  ballots  the  names 
of  the  candidates  shall  be  arranged  alphabetically,  with 
a  square  at  the  left  of  each  name.  The  ballots  shall  be 
printed  upon  plain,  substantially  white  paper,  and  shall 
be  headed: 

CANDIDATES  FOR  NOMINATION. 


For  Councilmen  of  the  City  of  Wilmington  at  the  Primary 

Election. 

Said  ballot  shall  bear  no  party  designation  whatever, 
nor  any  other  mark.  The  ballot  shall  be  in  substantially 
the  following  form: 

"  (Place  a  cross  in  the  square  preceding  the  names  of 
the  parties  you  favor  as  candidates  for  Councilmen) 
VOTE  FOR  TEN 
OFFICIAL  PRIMARY  BALLOT. 
Candidates  for  nomination  for  Councilmen  of  the  city  of 
Wilmington,  at  the  Primary  Election. 
For  Councilmen: 
(Names  of  Candidates. ) 

(Ten  or  More  Names. ) 
Official  Ballot — Attest: 

  (Signature)   .__ 

Chairman  City  Board  of  Elections. 


18 


(c)  Having  caused  said  ballots  to  be  printed,  the 
said  Chairman  shall  cause  to  be  delivered  at  each  of  the 
polling  places  a  number  of  said  ballots  equal  to  twice  the 
number  of  votes  cast  in  such  polling  precincts  at  the  last 
general  municipal  primary  election  for  Mayor.  The 
persons  who  are  qualified  to  vote  at  the  general  munici- 
pal election  shall  be  qualified  to  vote  at  such  primary 
election.  Challenges  can  be  made  by  not  more  than  two 
persons  at  each  voting  precinct,  who  shall  serve  without 
compensation,  one  to  be  appointed  by  the  City  Board  of 
Elections,  and  the  other  by  the  Council  of  the  city.  All 
challengers  shall  be  qualified  voters  of  the  precinct  in 
which  they  serve,  and  the  lawr  applicable  to  challenges  at 
the  general  municipal  election  shall  be  applicable  to 
challenges  at  such  primary  election;  and  all  laws,  rules 
and  regulations  in  force  at  the  time  of  the  adoption  of 
this  act,  except  as  herein  changed,  shall  be  observed  in 
the  methods  of  challenging.  The  judges  and  poll-holders 
of  elections  shall  immediately  upon  closing  of  the  polls, 
together  with  one  representative  for  each  candidate,  if 
such  representative  be  requested,  count  the  ballots  and 
ascertain  the  number  of  votes  cast  in  such  precinct  for 
each  of  the  candidates,  and  make  returns  thereof  to  the 
City  Board  of  Elections,  upon  proper  blanks  to  be  furn- 
ished by  said  City  Board  of  Elections,  within  six  hours  of 
the  closing  of  the  polls.  On  the  day  following  the  said 
primary  election,  the  said  City  Board  of  Elections  shall 
canvass  said  returns  so  received,  from  all  the  polling  pre- 
cincts, and  shall  make  and  publish  in  all  the  newspapers 
of  said  city,  at  least  once,  the  result  thereof.  The 
canvass  by  the  City  Board  of  Elections  shall  be  publicly 
made. 

The  two  candidates  living  in  each  ward  who  receive 
the  greatest  number  of  votes  for  Councilmen  shall  be 
the  candidates,  and  the  only  candidates  whose  names 


19 


shall  be  placed  upon  the  ballots  for  councilmen  at  the 
general  municipal  election  ; 

Provided,  however,  That  should  there  be  but  one 
candidate  in  any  ward  of  said  city  voted  for,  then  the 
name  of  such  person  only  shall  be  placed  upon  the 
ballot  for  Councilman  from  said  ward,  at  said  general 
municipal  election: 

Provided,  however,  All  of  such  candidates  shall  possess 
the  qualifications  prescribed  in  Section  Fourteen  of  this 
Act.. 

(d)  All  electors  of  the  city  of  Wilmington  who  would 
be  entitled  to  vote  for  the  election  of  officers  at  any  gen- 
eral municipal  election  shall  be  qualified  to  vote  at  all 
elections  under  this  Act,  and  the  ballots  at  the  general 
municipal  election  shall  be  in  the  same  general  form  as 
for  such  primary  elections,  so  far  as  applicable,  and  in  all 
elections  in  said  city,  the  election  precinct,  voting  places, 
methods  of  conducting. the  elections  and  canvassing  the 
vote  and  announcing  the  result  shall  be  the  same  as  by 
law  provided  for  election  of  officers  of  the  said  city  of 
Wilmington,  in  force  at  the  time  of  the  ratification  of 
this  Act,  so  far  as  the  same  are  applicable  and  not  in- 
consistent with  the  provisions  of  this  Act. 

Section  16.  (a)  Any  person  who  shall  agree  to  per- 
form any  services  in  the  interest  of  any  candidate  for  any 
office  provided  for  in  this  Act,  in  consideration  of  any 
money  or  other  thing  of  value,  or  who  does  perform  any 
service  in  the  interest  of  any  candidate  for  any  office  in 
consideration  of  any  money  or  other  thing  of  value,  upon 
conviction  shall  be  punished  by  a  fine  of  not  less  than 
$25,  nor  exceeding  $300,  or  be  imprisoned  in  the  county 
jail  not  less  than  five  days  nor  more  than  30  days. 

(b)  Any  person  offering  to  give  a  bribe,  either  in 
money  or  other  consideration,  to  any  elector  for  the  pur- 


20 


pose  of  influencing  his  vote  at  any  election  provided  for 
in  this  Act,  or  any  elector  entitled  to  vote  at  any  such 
election  receiving  or  accepting  any  such  bribe  or  other 
consideration,  or  any  person  making  false  answer  to  the 
provisions  of  this  Act,  relative  to  his  qualifications  to 
vote  at  any  elections;  or  any  person  wilfully  voting  or 
offering  to  vote  at  any  such  election  who  has  not  been  a 
resident  of  this  State  for  two  years,  or  of  the  county  of 
New  Hanover  for  six  months  or  the  ward  or  precinct  in 
which  he  offers  to  vote  for  four  months,  or  who  has  not 
paid  his  poll  tax  as  provided  for  by  the  law  of  North 
Caolina,  or  who  is  not  twenty-one  years  of  age,  or  who  is 
not  a  citizen  of  the  United  States,  or  knowing  himself  not 
to  be  a  qualified  voter  of  such  precinct  where  he  offers 
to  vote;  or  any  person  knowingly  procuring,  aiding  or 
abetting  any  violation  hereof;  shall  be  guilty  of  a  mis- 
demeanor, and,  upon  conviction,  shall  be  fined  not  less 
than  $100  nor  more  than  $500,  and  be  imprisoned  not 
less  than  ten  days  nor  more  than  ninety  days. 

Section  17.  It  shall  be  unlawful  for  any  candidate 
for  office  or  any  officer  of  the  city,  directly  or  indirectly, 
to  give  or  promise  any  person  or  persons  any  office, 
position,  employment,  benefit  or  anything  of  value,  for 
the  purpose  of  influencing  or  obtaining  the  political  sup- 
port, aid  or  vote,  of  any  person  or  persons;  and  any  such 
person  committing  a  breach  hereof  shall  be  guilty  of  a 
misdemeanor,  and  upon  conviction  shall  be  fined  not 
less  than  $100  nor  more  than  $500,  or  be  imprisoned  in 
the  County  jail  not  less  than  ten  days  nor  more  than 
ninety  days,  or  both. 

Every  elective  officer  of  the  city  shall,  within  thirty 
days  after  qualifying,  file  with  the  City  Clerk  and  pub- 
lish at  least  once  in  a  daily  paper  of  the  city  his  sworn 
statement  of  all  his  election  and  campaign  expenses, 


21 


showing  by  whom  such  was  contributed,  to  whom  the 
same  were  paid,  and  what  was  the  consideration  for  such 
payment. 

Any  violation  of  the  provisions  of  the  preceding  para- 
graph shall  be  a  misdemeanor,  and  be  a  ground  for  re- 
moval from  office. 

Section  18.  The  City  Board  of  Elections  shall  be  com- 
posed of  the  Register  of  Deeds  of  New  Hanover  county, 
the  Clerk  of  the  Superior  Court  of  said  county,  the  City 
Clerk  and  Treasurer  of  the  city  of  Wilmington — who 
shall  be  chairman  of  said  board — and  two  other  mem- 
bers to  be  selected  by  the  Council  of  the  city  of  Wilming- 
ton immediately  after  its  first  organization,  and  all  to 
qualify  and  their  terms  of  office  to  begin  on  the*  15th 
day  of  June,  1911;  their  terms  of  office  shall  expire  each 
two  years  thereafter,  or  until  their  successors  are  elected 
and  qualified. 

Section  19.  Immediately  after  organizing,  the  Coun- 
cil shall  by  ordinance  appoint  three  Civil  Service  Com- 
missioners, who  shall  serve  without  compensation,  who 
shall  hold  office,  one  until  the  first  Monday  in  June,  1913, 
one  until  the  first  Monday  in  June,  1915,  and  one  until 
the  first  Monday  in  June,  1917.  On  the  first  Monday  in 
June,  1913,  and  bi-annually  thereafter,  the  Council  shall 
appoint  one  Commissioner  for  a  term  of  six  years,  who 
shall  take  the  place  of  the  Commissioner  whose  term  of 
office  expires.  The  chairman  of  the  Commission  for  each 
bi-ennial  period  shall  be  the  member  whose  term  first 
expires.  No  person,  while  on  said  Commission,  shall 
hold  or  be  a  candidate  for  any  office  of  public  trust. 
Two  of  said  members  shall  constitute  .  a  quorum  to 
transact  business.  The  Commissioners  must  have  been 
citizens  of  North  Carolina  and  residents  of  the  city 


22 


for  more  than  three  years  next  preceding  their  appoint- 
ment. 

The  Council  may  remove  any  of  said  Commissioners 
during  their  term  of  office  for  cause,  four  Councilmen 
voting  in  favor  of  such  removal,  and  shall  fill  for  the  un- 
expired term  any  vacancy  that  may  occur  in  said  Com- 
mission. The  City  Council  shall  provide  suitable  rooms 
in  which  said  Commission  may  hold  its  meetings.  The 
City  Clerk  and  Treasurer  shall  be  the  clerk  to  the  Board 
of  Commissioners,  and  he  shall  keep  a  record  of  all  its 
meetings.  The  City  Council  shall  supply  the  said  Com- 
mission with  all  necessary  equipment  for  the  carrying  on 
of  its  business. 

(a)  Before  entering  upon  the  duties  of  their  office, 
each'  of  said  Commissioners  shall  take  and  subscribe  an 
oath,  which  shall  be  filed  in  the  office  of  the  City  Clerk 
and  Treasurer  to  support  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States,  the  Constitution  of  the  State  of  North  Carolina, 
and  to  obey  all  laws,  and  to  aim  to  secure  and  maintain 
an  honest  and  efficient  force,  free  from  partisan  distinc- 
tion and  control  and  to  perform  the  duties  of  his  office  to 
the  best  of  his  ability. 

(b)  Said  Commission  shall  on  the  first  Monday  of 
June  and  December  of  each  year,  or  oftener,  if  it  shall  be 
deemed  necessary,  under  such  rules  as  may  be  prescribed 
by  the  Council,  hold  examinations  for  the  purpose  of 
determining  the  qualifications  of  applicants  for  positions, 
which  examinations  shall  be  practical,  and  shall  fairly 
test  the  fitness  of  the  person  examined  for  the  discharge 
of  the  duties  for  the  position  to  which  they  seek  to  be 
appointed.  Said  Commission  shall  as  soon  as  possible 
after  such  examination,  certify  to  the  Council  double  the 
number  of  persons  necessary  to  fill  vacancies,  who,  ac- 
cording to  its  records,  had  the  highest  standing  for  the 


23 


positions  they  seek  to  fill,  as  the  result  of  such  examina- 
tion ;  and  all  vacancies  which  occur,  that  come  under  the 
Civil  Service  prior  to  the  date  of  the  next  regular  examin- 
ation, shall  be  filled  from  said  list  so  certified; 

Provided,  however,  That  should  the  list  for  any  cause 
be  reduced  to  less  than  three  for  any  department,  then 
the  Council  or  the  head  of  the  proper  department  may 
temporarily  fill  a  vacancy,  but  for  not  to  exceed  thirty 
days. 

(c)  All  persons  subject  to  such  civil  service  examin- 
ations shall  be  subject  to  removal  from  office  or  employ- 
ment by  the  Council  for  misconduct  or  failure  to  per- 
form their  duties,  under  such  rules  and  regulations  as  it 
may  adopt,  and  the  Chief  of  Police,  Chief  of  Fire  De- 
partment, or  any  Councilman  or  other  foreman  in  charge 
of  municipal  work  may,  in  his  discretion  peremptorily 
suspend  or  discharge  any  subordinate  then  under  his 
direction,  for  neglect  of  duty,  or  disobedience  of  his 
orders,  but  shall,  within  twenty-four  hours  thereafter, 
report  such  suspension  or  discharge,  and  the  reasons 
therefor,  to  the  Councilman  in  charge  of  his  Department, 
who  shall  thereupon  affirm  or  revoke  such  discharge  or 
suspension,  according  to  the  facts. 

Such  employe  (or  the  officer  discharging  or  suspending 
him)  may  within  five  days  of  such  ruling,  appeal  there- 
from to  the  Council,  which  shall  fully  hear  and  determine 
the  matter  at  its  next  regular  meeting,  or  earlier,  if  it 
deems  necessary,  and  its  decision  shall  be  final.  Such 
discharged  or  suspended  employe  shall  receive  no  com- 
pensation from  the  city  for  loss  of  time. 

(d)  The  Commissioners  shall  haye  the  power  to  en- 
force the  attendance  of  witnesses,  the  production  of 
books  and  papers  and  powder  to  administer  oaths,  in  the 


24 


same  manner  and  with  like  effect  and  under  the  same 
penalties,  as  in  the  case  of  magistrates  exercising  criminal 
or  civil  jurisdiction  under  the  laws  of  North  Carolina. 

Said  Commissioners  shall  make  annual  report  to  the 
Council,  and  the  Council  may  require  a  special  report 
from  the  Commission  at  any  time;  and  said  Council  may 
prescribe  such  rules  and  regulations  for  the  proper  con- 
duct of  the  business  of  the  said  Commissioners  as  shall 
be  found  expedient  and  advisable,  including  restrictions, 
or  appointments,  promotions,  removals  for  cause,  roster 
of  employes,  certificates  of  records  to  the  auditor,  and 
restrictions  upon  payments  to  persons  improperly  em- 
ployed. 

(e)  The  Council  of  the  city  shall  have  the  power  to 
pass  ordinances  imposing  suitable  penalties  for  the  pun- 
ishment of  persons  violating  any  of  the  provisions  of  this 
act  relating  to  the  Civil  Service  Commission. 

(f)  The  provisions  of  this  section  shall  apply  to  all 
employees  of  the  Fire  Department  and  Police  Depart- 
ment of  the  city  of  Wilmington,  except  the  Chief  of 
Police  and  the  Chief  of  Fire  Department.  It  shall  apply 
to  all  other  employees  that  Council  may  by  resolution  or 
ordinance  place  under  Civil  Service  rules; 

Provided,  however,  the  present  employees  shall  retain 
their  positions  without  further  examinations,  unless  re- 
moved for  cause. 

All  officers  and  employees  shall  be  elected  or  appointed 
with  reference  to  their  qualification  and  fitness,  includ- 
ing their  moral  character,  and  for  the  good  of  the  public 
service  and  without  regard  to  their  political  faith  or 
party  affiliations. 

Section  20.  The  holder  of  any  elective  office  may  be 
removed  at  any  time  by  the  electors  qualified  to  vote  for 


a  successor  of  such  incumbent.  The  procedure  to  effect 
the  removal  of  any  incumbent  shall  be  as  follows : 

A  petition  signed  by  electors  entitled  to  vote  for  a 
successor  to  the  incumbent  sought  to  be  removed,  equal 
in  number  to  at  least  thirty-five  per  centum  of  the  entire 
vote  for  all  candidates  for  the  office  of  Mayor  at  the  last 
preceding  general  primary  election,  demanding  an  elec- 
tion of  a  successor  to  the  person  sought  to  be  removed 
shall  be  filed  with  the  City  Clerk  and  Treasurer,  which 
petition  shall  contain  a  general  statement  of  the  grounds 
for  which  the  removal  is  sought.  The  signatures  to  the 
petition  need  not  all  be  appended  to  one  paper,  but 
each  signer  shall  add  to  his  signature  his  place  of  resi- 
dence, giving  the  street  and  number.  One  of  the  signers 
of  each  such'  paper  shall  make  oath  before  an  officer 
competent  to  administer  oaths  that  the  statements 
therein  made  are  true  as  he  believes,  and  that  each 
signature  of  the  paper  appended  is  the  genuine  signature 
of  the  person  whose  name  it  purports  to  be.  Within  ten 
days  from  the  date  of  filing  such  petition  the  City  Clerk 
and  Treasurer  shall  examine  and  from  the  Poll  Books 
ascertain  whether  or  not  said  petition  is  signed  by  the 
requisite  number  of  qualified  voters,  and,  if  necessary, 
the  Council  shall  allow  him  extra  help  for  that  purpose; 
and  he  shall  attach  to  said  petition  a  certificate  showing 
the  result  of  his  examination.  If,  by  the  Clerk  and  Treas- 
urer's certificate,  the  petition  is  shown  to  be  insufficient, 
it  shall  be  returned  to  the  person  filing  the  same  without 
prejudice,  however,  to  its  being  filed  again  within  ten 
days,  containing  additional  names;  and  without  preju- 
dice to  the  filing  of  a  new  petition  to  the  same  effect.  If 
the  petition  shall  be  deemed  to  be  sufficient,  the  Clerk 
and  Treasurer  shall  submit  the  same  to  the  Council  with- 
out delay.  If  the  petition  shall  be  found  to  be  sufficient, 
the  Council  shall  order  and  fix  a  date  for  holding  the  said 


36 


election  not  less  than  sixty  days  nor  more  than  eighty 
days  from  the  date  of  the  Clerk  and  Treasurer's  certificate 
to  the  Council  that  the  petition  is  sufficient. 

The  Council  shall  make  or  cause  to  be  made,  publi- 
cation of  notice  of  and  all  arrangements  for  holding  said 
election,  and  the  same  shall  be  conducted,  returned  and 
the  result  declared  in  all  respects  as  are  other  city  elect- 
ions. The  successor  of  any  officer  so  removed  shall  hold 
office  during  the  unexpired  term  of  his  predecessor.  Any 
person  sought  to  be  removed  may  be  a  candidate  to  suc- 
ceed himself,  and  unless  he  requests  otherwise  in  writ- 
ing the  City  Board  of  Election  shall  place  his  name  on 
the  official  ballot  for  nomination.  In  any  such  removal 
election  the  candidate  receiving  the  highest  number  of 
votes  shall  be  declared  elected.  At  such  election  if  some 
other  person  than  the  incumbent  shall  receive  the  high- 
est number  of  votes,  the  incumbent  shall  thereupon  be 
deemed  removed  from  the"  office  upon  qualification  of 
his  successor.  In  case  the  person  who  receives  the 
highest  number  of  votes  shall  fail  to  qualify  within 
ten  days  after  receiving  notification  of  his  election,  the 
office  shall  be  deemed  vacant.  If  the  incumbent  re- 
ceive the  highest  number  of  votes  he  shall  continue  in 
office.  This  method  of  removal  shall  be  cumulative  and 
additional  to  the  methods  heretofore  provided  by  law. 

Section  21.  Any  proposed  ordinance  may  be  sub- 
mitted to  the  Council  by  petition  signed  by  electors  of 
the  city  equal  in  number  to  the  percentages  hereinafter 
required.  The  signatures,  verification,  inspection,  certi- 
fication, amendment  and  submission  of  such  petition 
shall  be  the  same  as  provided  for  petitions  under  Section 
20  hereof. 

If  the  petition  accompanying  the  proposed  ordinance 
be  signed  by  electors  equal  in  number  to  thirty-five  per 


27 


centum  of  the  votes  cast  for  all  candidates  for  Mayor  at 
the  last  preceding  general  primary  election,  and  contains 
a  request  that  the  said  ordinance  be  submitted  to  a  vote 
of  the  people  if  not  passed  by  the  Council,  such  Council 
shall  either 

(a)  Pass  said  ordinance  without  alteration  within 
twenty  days  after  attachment  of  the  Clerk  and  Treasur- 
er's certificate  to  the  accompanying  petition,  or 

(b)  Forthwith  after  the  Clerk  and  Treasurer  shall 
attach  to  the  petition  accompanying  such  ordinance  his 
certificate  of  sufficiency,  the  Council  shall  call  a  special 
election,  unless  a  general  municipal  election  is  fixed  with- 
in six  months  thereafter,  and  at  such  special  or  general 
election,  if  one  is  so  fixed,  such  ordinance  shall  be  sub- 
mitted without  alteration  to  the  vote  of  the  electors  of 
said  city. 

But  if  the  petition  is  signed  by  not  less  than  ten  or 
more  than  thirty-five  per  centum  of  the  electors,  as 
above  defined,  then  the  Council  shall,  within  twenty 
days,  pass  said  ordinance  without  change,  or  submit  the 
same  at  next  general  city  election  occurring  not  more 
than  six  months  after  the  Clerk  and  Treasurer's  certi- 
ficate of  sufficiency  is  attached  to  said  petition. 

The  ballots  used  when  voting  upon  said  ordinance  shall 
contain  these  words:  "For  the  Ordinance"  (stating  the 
nature  of  the  proposed  ordinance)  and  " Against  the 
Ordinance,"  (stating  the  nature  of  the  proposed  ordi- 
nance.) If  a  majority  of  the  qualified  electors  voting  on 
the  proposed  ordinance  shall  vote  in  favor  thereof,  such 
ordinance  shall  thereupon  become  a  valid  and  binding 
ordinance  of  the  city;  and  any  ordinance  proposed  by 
petition,  or  which  shall  be  adopted  by  a  vote  of  the  peo- 


28 


pie,  cannot  be  repealed  or  amended  except  by  a  vote  of 
the  people. 

Any  number  of  proposed  ordinances  may  be  voted 
upon  at  the  same  election,  in  accordance  with  the  provi- 
sions of  this  section;  but  there  shall  not  be  more  than  one 
special  election  in  any  period  of  six  months  for  such  pur- 
pose. 

The  Council  may  submit  a  proposition  for  the  repeal 
of  any  ordinance  or  for  amendments  thereto,  to  be  voted 
upon  at  any  succeeding  general  or  special  election;  and 
should  such  proposition  so  submitted  receive  a  majority 
of  the  votes  cast  thereon  at  such  election,  such  ordinance 
shall  thereby  be  repealed  or  amended  accordingly  When- 
ever an  ordinance  or  proposition  is  required  by  this  act 
to  be  submitted  to  the  voters  of  the  city  at  any  election, 
the  City  Clerk  and  Treasurer  shall  cause  such  ordinance 
or  proposition  to  be  published  once  in  each  of  the  news- 
papers published  daily  in  the  city  of  Wilmington;  such 
publication  to  be  not  more  than  twenty  nor  less  than 
five  days  before  the  submission  of  such  proposition  or 
ordinance  to  be  voted  upon. 

Section  22.  No  ordinance  passed  by  the  Council  ex- 
cept when  otherwise  required  by  the  general-laws  of  the 
State  or  by  the  provisions  of  this  act,  except  an  ordinance 
for  the  immediate  preservation  of  the  public  peace, 
health  or  safety,  which  contains  a  statement  of  its  urgen- 
cy and  is  passed  by  a  two-thirds  vote  of  the  Council, 
shall  go  into  effect  before  ten  days  from  the  time  of  its 
final  passage;  and  if  during  said  ten  days  a  petition  signed 
by  electors  of  the  city  equal  in  number  to  at  least  thirty- 
five  per  centum  of  the  entire  vote  cast  for  candidates  for 
Mayor  at  the  last  preceding  general  primary  election  at 
which  a  Mayor  was  nominated,  protesting  against  the 
passage  of  such  ordinance,  be  presented  to  the  Council, 


29 


the  said  ordinance  shall  thereupon  be  suspended  from 
going  into  operation,  and  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the 
Council  to  reconsider  such  ordinance,  and  if  the  same  is 
not  entirely  repealed,  the  Council  shall  submit  the  or- 
dinances, as  is  provided  in  sub-section  "b"  of  Section  21 
of  this  act,  to  the  vote  of  the  electors  of  the  city,  either 
at  the  general  election,  or  at  a  special  municipal  election 
to  be  called  for  that  purpose;  and  such  ordinance  shall 
not  go  into  effect  or  become  operative  unless  a  majority 
of  the  qualified  voters  voting  on  the  same  shall  vote  in 
favor  thereof.  Said  petition  shall  in  all  respects  be  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  provisions  of  said  section  20  of  this  act. 

Section  23.  Petitions  provided  for  in  this  act  shall 
be  signed  by  none  but  legal  voters  of  the  city.  Each 
petition  shall  contain,  in  addition  to  the  names  of  the 
petitioners,  the  street  and  house  number  in  which  the 
petitioner  resides,  his  age  and  length  of  residence  in  the 
city,  and  a  statement  as  to  whether  he  has  paid  his  poll 
tax  as  required  by  the  laws  of  North  Carolina.  It  shall 
also  be  accompanied  by  the  affidavit  of  one  or  more  legal 
voters  of  the  city,  stating  that  the  signers  thereof  were,  at 
the  time  of  signing,  legal  voters  of  the  city,  and  stating 
the  number  of  signers  at  the  time  the  affidavit  was  made. 

Section  24.  In  the  construction  of  this  act,  unless  the 
construction  would  be  inconsistent  with  the  manifest  in- 
tent of  and  repugnant  to  the  statute,  the  following  rules 
shall  be  observed : 

1.  The  word  "Councilman,"  or  "Alderman"  shall  be 
construed  to  mean  Councilman  when  applied  to  this  act. 

I 

2.  The  word  "franchise"  shall  include  every  special 
privilege  in  the  streets,  highways  and  public  places  in  the 

r  city,  whether  granted  by  the  State  or  the  city,  which  be- 

long to  the  citizens  generally  by  common  right. 


30 


3.  The  word  "electors"  shall  be  construed  to  mean 
persons  qualified  to  vote  for  elective  officers  at  regular 
municipal  elections. 

4.  This  Act  shall  be  deemed  and  held  to  be  a  remedial 
statute,  and  as  such  shall  be  liberally  construed,  to  the 
end  that  all  necessary  and  reasonable  power  and  author- 
ity shall  be  conferred  upon  the  Council  herein  described 
to  enable  it  to  conduct  and  maintain  for  the  city  of 
Wilmington  a  strong  and  efficient  municipal  government. 

Section  25.  The  City  Board  of  Election  shall  per- 
form all  duties  pertaining  to  holding  elections,  provided 
for  in  this  act,  which  duties  are  not  otherwise  provided 
for  herein. 

Section  26.  All  election  laws  now  in  force,  relative  to 
the  city  of  Wilmington,  or  which  may  hereafter  be  adopt- 
ed, which  are  not  inconsistent  with  the  provisions  of  this 
act,  shall  be  observed. 

Section  27.  All  charters,  parts  of  charters,  laws  and 
parts  of  laws  in  conflict  with  the  provisions  of  this  act  are 
hereby  repealed. 

Section  28.  This  Act  shall  be  in  force  from  and  after 
its  ratification. 

In  the  General  Assembly  read  three  times  and  ratified 
this  the  3rd  day  of  March,  1911. 


(Signed) 


(Signed) 


W.  C.  NEWLAND, 
President  of  the  Senate. 

W.  C.  DOWD, 


Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives.- 


Examined  and  found  Correct: 


(Signed) 


WILLIAMS,  of  Swain 
For  Committee. 


AN  ACT 
TO  AMEND  THE  CHARTER 

OF  THE 

CITY  OF  WILMINGTON 


The  General  Assembly  of  North  Carolina  do  enact: 

Section  1.  That  so  much  of  chapter  seventy-five  of 
the  Private  Laws  of  one  thousand  nine  hundred  and 
eleven  that  provides  that  the  councilman,  elected  at 
the  regular  city  election  of  the  city  of  Wilmington,  who 
receives  the  greater  number  of  votes,  shall  be  the  mayor 
of  said  city,  is  hereby  repealed. 

Section  2.  That  the  city  of  Wilmington  shall  be 
governed  by  a  council  of  five,  elected  as  is  prescribed 
by  chapter  seventy-five  of  the  Private  Laws  of  one  thous- 
and nine  hundred  and  eleven  and  a  mayor  to  be  elected 
as  hereinafter  set  forth. 

Section  3.  The  mayor  of  the  city  of  Wilmington  shall 
be  a  qualified  voter  of  the  city  of  Wilmington  and  shall 
be  nominated  and  elected  at  the  same  time  and  in  the 
same  manner  as  the  councilmen  of  said  city.  All  candi- 
dates for  the  office  of  mayor  shall,  at  least  ten  days  prior 
to  the  primary  election  file  with  the  chairman  of  the  city 
board  of  elections,  a  statement  of  like  tenor  and  character 
as  that  required  by  a  candidate  for  councilman  of  said 
city,  together  with  a  petition  similar  to  that  required 
for  candidate  for  councilman,  and  the  ballots  used  in 
said  primary  election  shall  have  printed  upon  them  the 
names  of  all  candidates  for  mayor  and  said  ballots  shall, 
in  respect  to  said  office  of  mayor,  conform  in  every  way 
to  those  required  by  said  chapter  seventy-five  of  the 
Private  Laws  of  one  thousand  nine  hundred  and  eleven 


32 


and  the  word  "mayor"  shall  be  printed,  wherever  neces- 
sary, on  said  ballots,  so  as  to  give  the  voter  an  oppor- 
tunity to  know  for  whom  he  is  voting.  Each  elector 
shall  be  entitled  to  vote  for  two  candidates  for  mayor  in 
the  primary  election.  The  two  candidates  who  receive 
the  greatest  number  of  votes  for  the  nomination  to  the 
office  of  mayor,  shall  have  their  name  printed  upon  the 
ballot  at  the  general  municipal  election,  and  shall  be 
voted  for  in  the  same  manner  as  a  candidate  for  council- 
man: Provided,  however,  that  should  there  be  but  one 
candidate  for  mayor,  his  name  alone  shall  be  placed 
upon  the  ballot  at  the  general  election,  and  provided 
further  that  should  there  be  but  two  candidates  for 
mayor  at  the  primary  election,  then  the  names  of  both 
candidates  shall  be  printed  upon  the  ballots  at  the  gener- 
al municipal  election.  The  candidate  for  mayor  receiv- 
ing the  greater  number  of  votes  at  the  general  municipal 
election  shall  be  the  duly  elected  mayor  of  the  city  of 
Wilmington.  Before  entering  upon  the  discharge  of 
the  duties  of  mayor,  he  shall  take  and  subscribe  an  oath 
that  he  will  support  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States  and  the  Constitution  and  laws  of  the  State  of 
North  Carolina,  not  inconsistent  therewith,  and  that  he 
will  perform  the  duties  of  mayor  of  the  city  of  Wilming- 
ton honestly  and  faithfully  and  to  the  best  of  his  ability. 

Section  4.  Said  mayor  shall  give  his  whole  time  to 
the  duties  of  said  office,  shall  preside  at  all  meetings  of 
the  council,  but  shall  have  no  vote  except  in  case  of  a 
tie. 

Section  5.  At  the  first  meeting  of  the  council  after 
the  election  of  mayor,  as  herein  provided,  the  council 
shall  elect  one  of  its  members  a  mayor  pro  tempore, 
who  shall  serve  as  mayor  whenever  the  mayor  shall 
be  absent  from  the  city  or  for  any  cause  unable  to 


33 


perform  the  duties  of  mayor.  Whenever  there  shall  be  a- 
vacancy  in  the  office  of  mayor  the  council  shall  fill  the 
vacancy  by  electing  one  of  its  own  members  mayor 
for  the  unexpired  term,  or  by  electing  any  qualified 
voter  of  the  city,  and  in  the  event  of  a  vacancy  caused  by 
the  election  of  one  of  the  councilmen  as  mayor,  the 
council  shall  fill  the  vacancy  from  the  ward  in  which 
said  councilman  resides. 

Section  6.  Said  mayor  shall  be  subject  to  recall  and 
removal  as  any  member  of  the  council.  The  procedure 
in  case  of  recall  and  removal  shall  be  the  same  as  provided 
by  law  in  case  of  recall  of  councilman. 

Section  7.  The  mayor  shall  be  the  chief  executive 
officer  of  the  city  of  Wilmington.  He  shall  do  and 
perform  all  duties  provided  or  prescribed  by  law,  or  by 
the  ordinances  of  the  city  of  Wilmington  not  expressly 
delegated  to  any  other  person.  He  shall  be  ex-  officio 
chairman  of  all  departments  of  the  city  and  shall  have 
general  supervision  and  oversight  over  the  departments 
and  officers  of  the  city  government  and  shall  be  the  chief 
representative  of  the  city  and  shall  report  to  the  council 
any  failure  on  the  part  of  the  officers  of  his  or  any  other 
department  to  perform  their  duties.  He  may  suspend 
any  officer  or  employee  elected  by  the  council,  for 
failure  to  perform  his  or  their  duty,  or  for  any  other 
proper  cause;  but  said  officer  or  employee  may  appeal  to 
the  council  who  shall  hear  the  matters  pertaining  to 
said  suspension,  and  said  council  shall,  after  a  thorough 
investigation,  render  such  decision  therein  as  they,  in 
their  discretion,  may  see  fit,  and  may  reinstate  said 
officer  or  employee.  The  mayor  shall  not  vote  in  the 
event  any  employee  or  officer  shall  appeal  to  the  council 
from  his  order  of  suspension. 

Section  8.  Said  mayor  shall  sign  all  contracts  on  be- 
half of  the  city,  unless  otherwise  provided  by  law  or 


34 


resolution  or  ordinance  by  the  city  council.  He  shall 
have  charge  of  and  cause  to  be  printed  and  published  all 
statements  and  reports  required  by  law,  ordinance  or 
resolution  of  the  city  council. 

Section  9.  That  so  much  of  chapter  seventy-five  of 
the  Private  Laws  of  one  thousand  nine  hundred  and 
eleven  which  creates  departments  of  the  city  and  assigns 
powers,  duties  and  authority  to  them,  be  and  the  same 
is  hereby  repealed,  but  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  council 
to  determine  what  duties  shall  be  performed  by  the 
mayor,  other  than  that  herein  prescribed,  and  any  mem- 
ber of  the  council,  and  assign  them  to  said  mayor  or 
councilmen. 

Section  10.  The  council  shall  designate  the  mayor  or 
one  of  its  members  or  any  officer  of  the  city  a  purchasing 
agent  of  the  city,  and  all  property,  supplies  and  material 
cf  every  kind  whatsoever  shall  be  purchased  only  by 
him  after  an  order  from  the  city  council,  and  in  addition 
thereto  all  printing  of  the  city  shall  be  in  charge  of  and 
under  the  supervision  of  said  purchasing  agent,  and  no 
warrants  for  any  purchase  or  printing  shall  be  issued  by 
said  city  unless  the  purchase  or  printing  for  which  issued 
shall  be  approved  by  said  purchasing  agent. 

Section  11.  The  salary  of  the  councilmen  of  the  city 
of  Wilmington  shall  be  six  hundred  dollars  a  year,  pay- 
able in  monthly  installments  of  fifty  dollars;  and  the 
salary  of  the  mayor  shall  be  not  less  than  one  thousand 
eight  hundred  dollars,  nor  more  than  three  thousand 
dollars  per  annum  payable  monthly,  to  be  fixed  by  the 
council:  Provided,  however,  that  the  mayor  shall  have 
no  vote  in  the  fixing  of  said  salary. 

Section  12.  That  section  sixteen  (a)  and  (b)  and 
section  seventeen  of  chapter  seventy-five,  Private  Laws, 
one  thousand  nine  hundred  and  eleven,  shall  apply  to 


35 


the  candidate  or  candidates  for  mayor  to  the  same  extent 
as  to  candidates  for  councilman. 

Section  13.  Amend  section  eighteen  of  chapter  seven- 
ty-five of  the  Private  Laws  of  one  thousand  nine  hundred 
and  eleven,  by  striking  out  the  words  "the  city  clerk  and 
treasurer  of  the  city  of  Wilmington"  in  lines  three  and 
four  of  said  section  and  inserting  in  lieu  thereof  the  words 
^the  chairman  of  the  board  of  elections  of  New  Hanover 
county/' 

Section  14.  Amend  section  thirty  of  chapter  seventy- 
five  of  the  Private  Laws  of  one  thousand  nine  hundred 
and  eleven  by  striking  out  the  words  "thirty-five"  in  the 
third  line  of  the  second  paragraph  of  said  section  and 
inserting  in  lieu  thereof  the  word  "twenty-five."  and  also 
by  striking  out  the  word  "primary"  in  line  four  of  said 
paragraph  and  inserting  in  lieu  thereof  the  word  "munici- 
pal." Amend  also  said  paragraph  of  section  thirty  by 
adding  after  the  word  "vote"  and  before  the  word  "for" 
in  line  three  of  said  paragraph,  the  word  "cast." 

Section  14.  Amend  section  fourteen  of  chapter  seven- 
ty-five of  the  Private  Laws  of  one  thousand  nine  hundred 
and  eleven  by  striking  out  the  words  "like  day  of"  at 
the  end  of  line  five  and  beginning  of  line  six  of  the  second 
paragraph  of  said  section  fourteen,  and  inserting  in  lieu 
thereof  the  words  "on  the  first  Tuesday  of  May." 

Section  15.  That  all  laws  and  clauses  of  laws  in  con- 
flict with  the  provisions  of  this  act  are  hereby  repealed. 

Section  16.  That  this  act  shall  be  in  force  and  effect 
from  and  after  its  ratification. 

In  the  General  Assembly  read  three  times  and  rati- 
fied this  the  7th  day  of  March,  1913. 

E.  L.  DAUGHTRIDGE. 
GEO.  W.  CONNOR,  President  of  the  Senate. 

Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives. 


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